skydyvr

Usually, people who engage in such stereotypical speech are labeled bigots. What gives? Where is the rabid outcry from the left? Could they be . . . hypocrites? . . =(_8^(1)

They won't vote for him because he's been buying into that dick for 20 years. Can you imagine the difference between how you and I are summarizing the situation? . . =(_8^(1)

Is it better to have no brain, or to have one but allow horribly negative ideas to be poured into it? . . =(_8^(1)

None. Election fraud can take place regardless of which method is used to count votes. . . =(_8^(1)

You must be a spammer. . . =(_8^(1)

Yep, I wish he could figure out how to make a buck promoting the real issues of our day, thereby lining his pockets AND advancing mankind. Shows you what he really cares about. Or maybe he really cares about the environment, but is just an idiot. . . =(_8^(1)

'cause that's all that seems to get to the finals. Broken system. . . =(_8^(1)

Yep, I just wish the mainstream left would begin to place more focus on factory farming pollution, which is greater than transportation pollution worldwide. Gore could do some actual good promoting THAT specific cause. . . =(_8^(1)

Non-descript red cups just aren't attention grabbers. . . =(_8^(1)

I believe then, that you'll probably make a good Democrat. . . =(_8^(1)

If Obama's a racist, does that mean he thinks he's superior to himself? . . =(_8^(1)

Enlightening, thanks for the prompt. ***Nor have the views of televangelist Rod Parsley, one of McCain's self-proclaimed "spiritual advisers," received a fraction of the attention generated by Wright. As both David Corn and Alan Colmes, among others, have documented, Parsley espouses views at least as extreme and radical as Wright, including his proclamation that "America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion [Islam] destroyed." . . =(_8^(1)

Caveat: Obama has also admitted he was "smoked out" on the issue. Where was the condemnation before now? . . =(_8^(1)

As I get older, I try to find ways to keep my mind plastic. Changing opinions every 5 minutes is one way to do that.

Total hypocrisy, that. Obama's rationale might be that Wright is a fighter for social change, while Imus is a fighter for nothing but laughs. Who knows. You could claim Obama's a bigot, but then he'd have to hate half of himself. . . =(_8^(1)

Generally more true now hopefully. I was in high school. There were 10-12 whites in the school, the rest mostly Hawaiins. It was a loonnnng time ago (mumblemumble), and it was rough. . . =(_8^(1)

Would be very interested to know that too. Maybe Wright spent 95% of his time just preaching the gospel, maybe not. . . =(_8^(1)

Absolutely. I had a conversation with a Lady on here recently about gender discrimination in the workplace. My take was that it's minimal these days. Her take was that it's prevalent, even though we work in similar environments. I stopped short on pressing the argument when I realized we look through different lenses, as you say, and her perspective probably had more value than mine, since she is the one who's actually subjected to the discrimination. That applies to the race issue too, I know, and I'm trying to look through other lenses as much as possible. And I think my white youth spent in Hawaii helps me do that just a little. . . =(_8^(1)

No, but if your friends made continuous attempts to persuade you into using drugs, "preached" you into it, would you not be an idiot for hanging around and putting up with it? But you're no idiot or masochist -- you'd hit the road and find new friends. But friends, associates, and colleagues are NOT comparable to pastors. They are spritual teachers, and if you attend their church, you are at the very least in ostensible agreement with their perspectives. As I wrote to Wendy, I believe Wright's perspectives are counterproductive in this day. As I think through this, I am arriving at the conclusion that simply subscribing to "black liberation" concepts is not necessarily a show stopper for me. What is, is the possibilty that Obama COULD be as much a racist asshole as his pastor, and just hiding it. Of course, we have no way to look into his heart, so we don't know, and the notion of that possibility persists with me. . . =(_8^(1)

I read the links, and am already familiar with the concepts. Thanks. I also realize that the problems are not "all in their head", though a significant portion IS, as evidenced by Wright. I believe Wright's brand of thinking is dated and needs to go away; needs to be on track for exit right along with Black Entertainment Television. Not that it never had a place or time, but it's counterproductive anymore. Blacks have won enough of the battle in our nation now to come up to speed if lagging sectors of them will turn the magnifying glass inward. And many ARE coming up to speed. I personally work with numerous examples. We DO need to continue to focus on the disadvantages still inherent in our culture, which is why EEO type laws still need to be here for a while longer, but we as a nation are now beyond the need for "liberation", most certainly including pastors who rail on against the white man. I attend an interracial church. The pastor there doesn't rail against whites or blacks, he just preaches the gospel. It's an environment that's achieved the ideal described by skybitch earlier in the thread - real color blindness. "Black" churches don't effectively promote that goal. We're reaching a point where anything that has racially defined attributes is counterproductive in most arenas. I'll modify my assertion to reflect that Obama subscribes to a church which is off the mark and lagging in it's ideas and methods, if the goal is truly racial equality. That doesn't make him a racist, it just makes him a person who's subscribed to a solution to race problems which I find dated and ineffective. That tells me much. . . =(_8^(1)

I'm not intending to make such a statement. There are many more facets to the man, the campaign, and the race than just this issue, and I think he's a viable choice for many people out there -- just not me anymore. In fact, I'm all out of candidates now. I'm just trying to write in my vote here that the speech failed to cool my basic fear: "Is Obama a racist?". For me, sadly, the answer is yes. Guilty by assosciation, as much as McCain is with Hagee, as much as Hillary playing the gender cards. My point is not that anyone who follows Obama has White Guilt. It's that anyone who can't see a severe problem with a candidate who subscribes to a church with such racist views DOES. . . =(_8^(1)

Or anyone else not suffering from severe a case of White Guilt. . . =(_8^(1)

Seems to me that blowhards from every quarter get their say around here. . . =(_8^(1)

So you're the Pastor of the Speaker's Corner Church of Holy Self Righteousness? . . =(_8^(1)

That's because it's impossible to write a "good" paragraph on it. Imagine Obama knew nothing of Wright's aids or 9/11 type commentary, although imagining it is a very difficult task since that wouldv'e been THE talk of the church for a long time. But imagine it's possible. We're still left with a candidate who obviously subscribes to the whole "black church" mentality, which disturbs me just as much as a candidate with a "white church" mentality would. We need candidates with broader world views than one who sits in a church with that much focus on one race's issues. Obama ain't that candidate in my mind. Obama has been revealed as a man who subscribes to racism of one flavor or another, and he's lost my confidence. Looks like Ingrid Newkirk gets my write-in vote yet again. . . =(_8^(1)